A new menu offers a timely excuse - if you needed one - to revisit this gem of a neighbourhood restaurant. Excellent traditional Ethiopian main courses are still a must, but new dishes bring variety to a menu already crackling with interest. Some are eaten as breakfast, some as snacks, all are eaten in line with the doctrines of the Coptic church: a vegan diet on Wednesdays and Fridays ensures both imaginative meat-free fare as well as a high proportion of all things flesh-based on other days. Ethiopian omelette, simply spiked with coriander and onion, is wrapped around a voluptuous chickpea hummus whipped with clarified butter: a surprising treat that may be one of the best egg dishes you'll eat. Ethiopian sausage has lean beef lightly seasoned with coriander, while chicken on the bone comes in a deeply flavoured sauce of long-cooked red onion and paprika. Tobia remains as enjoyable as it is unusual.KM

An unwell Keith Floyd may have pulled out but there are still plenty of attractions at this weekend's East Midlands Food And Drink Festival. Unsurprisingly, it features a high quota of the area's finest products - cheese and pork pies. Melton Mowbray-based Melton Cheeseboard will exhibit some of their 100-strong range. Of course, the town is renowned for its pies and its biggest producer Dickinson & Morris also features on a 200-strong list of exhibitors. And no self-respecting food fest would be complete without celebrity chefs. This one features BBC regular James Martin plus cake specialist Mary Berry.JM

· Exhibition Halls, Cattle Market, Sat 7, Sun 8 (Tel: 0870-225 3936)

JeffersBangor

It's mustered many a fine bag of chips, but this Northern Irish seaside town has long been a stranger to fine dining. Enter Stephen Jeffers' latest venture and local foodies at last have a place to dip their soda bread. The brasserie-style menu is self-assured. For starters, try goat's cheese fritters with spicy aubergine chutney, or piquilla soup - a dollop of pesto and prawns delivering a flash of colour. For mains, duck confit is perfectly crisp; squash, roast chestnuts and cider providing a sweet, though sparse, foundation. Chef scores on seafood: the fish stew swims with prawns, while skate, salmon and mussels jostle in a spiced base. To finish - a quality Fairtrade espresso.JL

· 7 Grays Hill (Tel: 028-9185 9555) price per head £19

The Hand And FlowersMarlow

With all the praise heaped upon Tom Kerridge's finely tuned modern British cooking, it was no surprise he gained a Michelin star this year. There is passion and consistency here in oodles, and while Kerridge's wife Beth oversees a hospitable front of house he churns out unpretentious, beautifully honed dishes. Start with freshly baked bread rolls and segue into a comforting glazed smoked haddock and parmesan omelette. Partnered with orange chutney and toasted brioche, the parfait of duck and foie gras comes encased within a white bordered strip of salt and butter. Mains like wild Scottish halibut with fennel, capers and new potatoes are solid and earthy. Gorgeous puds are equally reassuring, with the rich chocolate cheesecake married with pistachio ice cream, carrying a definite "ooh" factor. A charming interior adds to the feeling of a real treat.HH